How To Nurture And Motivate Talent of Your Employees

There is a very popular saying “To err is human”. This saying is so true in a scenario when the most talented HR professionals unintentionally goof up during the hiring process by recruiting a wrong employee. The problem starts when the said employee proves to be the worst hurdle for the employer. We all know that every wrong hire can prove to be a very costly affair for the organization. You need to double your efforts when it comes to sourcing the candidates by recruiting and training them to become productive for the organization. While this is often the case that most of the employers choose there is a need for change in outlook when it comes to dealing with the situation.

Solving the Problem of Unproductive Employees in Organization

It is a fact that no employee wants to ruin their career by conducting things in the order while working in an organization. But, when they are not able to transform their ability into performance and begin to have a negative influence on the talented employees it is during these times that employers think about taking stern action against them. What if there was a way to deal with this situation in a positive way? We are already aware that hiring a different person for the position is not going to prove productive instantly. It will take time. So, instead of taking the risk of hiring a new individual for the position can’t an employer try to mend ways with the worst employees and transform them into one of their best performers in the organization? This question is worth to ponder upon.

When you look at the scenario every time a mistake is made by your worst employees the managers have to bear the brunt. The reason being, every leader is as strong as the weakest member of the team. The best way to resolve this problem is by making them work as a part of a team and to the weight of the worst performers so that they learn from their mistakes and grow professionally. There are times when the worst performers are sometimes indicators of the problem within the team. Their failure should not be seen as an individual failure rather it needs to be seen as a failure of the entire team. Maybe you are giving too much of a responsibility to the worst performers. The best way to deal with this situation is by inculcating the culture of team development.

Steps To Improve Performance of Employees

Now that you are aware that it is better to have your worst employees working as a part of the team to cover their weaknesses, it is time to look at the different steps that can help your worst employees to grow their performance without demeaning them:

1. Find out the Root Cause of their problem

Have a candid discussion with the worst team members and identify the root cause of their problem. Once you identify the cause do some work on growing their motivation level to maximize their productivity. This can be done by encouraging them by highlighting their smallest achievements.

2. Set Regular Goals for the Worst Employees

Conduct regular goal setting and employee skill development meetings with the worst employees. Also, concentrate on utilizing their primary skill set that the employee brought to the table when you hired them.

3. Put them on the Performance Enhancement Program

Make it clear to the employees that they need to improve their performance in order to remain a part of your organization. This can be in the form of a written agreement that highlights a plan to enhance their performance. Jot down all the major pointers that can have a major impact on improving their performance. Set clear deadlines and goals for the employees to achieve.

4. Give them Enough Time to Prove their Worth

You need to give them adequate time to prove themselves by putting in an effort. Keep encouraging them by increasing their motivation till the date of performance evaluation. The key to the success of transforming the worst employees into the best is to make them feel supported during the entire process so that they can reach their true performance potential. Make them feel valued and they will try their level best to turn the screws and transform into your best performers.

Conclusion

By concentrating your efforts on your worst employees you are doing your organization a great favor of improving its bottom line. Implement the performance development plan process explained in this blog to motivate your low-performing employees who are the weakest links in your organization to transform into becoming your best performers with a stronger work ethic. Remember, your worst employees can prove to be the real diamond that is covered in the rough but to achieve the desired results you need to polish them to get the real worth. With time, their talent will mature which will make them outperform other employees in your organization and become the highest performing employees.

cFIRST Think Tank is the team that researches and produces content for cFirst. This team comprises of seasoned content and digital design professionals and background screening industry veterans. Together we produce insightful blogs, infographics and reports meant for HR and background screening professionals.